Recap: DWeb Meetup – Decentralized Tech to Resist Authoritarianism

Today, I attended the Decentralized Web (DWeb) virtual meetup. Topics included how decentralized tools enable self-organization and communication continuity when centralized systems fail—relevant both technically and socially.

What Was Covered

🔧 Technologies That Stood Out

• Iroh — A peer-to-peer networking library enabling direct device-to-device connection using public keys, removing central dependencies.
• FireAid — An interface built from a community spreadsheet that facilitated aid distribution to over 100,000 people during wildfire emergencies.
• Socialroots — Coordination software built for fluid, grassroots networks rather than hierarchical organizational charts.
• Ceno — A peer-to-peer browser designed to survive censorship and low-connectivity environments.

Insights from the Speakers

• Ksenia Ermoshina (eQualit.ie) explained how geopolitical conflicts reshape internet routing—and how tools like Ceno and OuiSync support encrypted, decentralized communication.
• Brendan “b5” O’Brien (Iroh) walked through the design philosophy behind Iroh, emphasizing reliability, composability, and user-centric architecture.
• Johan Michalove (mutua, FireAid) shared how FireAid scaled during a crisis and how mutua is evolving infrastructure for mutual aid.
• Ana Jamborcic (Socialroots) discussed the concept of “intimacy gradients” and how network-first coordination tools enable collaborative movements.

Broader Context & Highlights

From the chat:

• Open Tech Fund supports open-source civic infrastructure
• OuiSync reappears as a lightweight P2P sync tool
• Mesh networks for citizen sensing emerged as an example of DIY environmental monitoring

My Take

This meetup underscored that resiliency isn’t just a buzzword - it’s a technical design principle. These tools are built for real-world constraints and decentralization by default...not as a marketing angle. That kind of authenticity matters.

Even in broader tech circles or infrastructure thinking, questions of decentralization, privacy, and agency are increasingly relevant to practitioners and builders.

If you’d like to explore these projects further, I recommend starting with Iroh, Ceno, or FireAid.

More from the DWeb: getdweb.net
Stay in touch with developers: Iroh’s Discord